Pre-Load Day: A Design Install in Santa Rosa Beach
By Joshua B McGrew, co-owner, Beach House Moving
A two-day job for Design & Dwell Homes: the truck loaded at a storage facility the day before, so install day in Santa Rosa Beach started with unloading.
Field Notes from the Truck, a job log from a real job. This one: Santa Rosa Beach, a two-day project for Design & Dwell Homes.
In September we ran another project with Design & Dwell Homes, the 30A interior design and staging firm we work with. It ran over two days. Day one was a storage facility, and day two was the house.
The short answer
Pre-loading means the truck gets loaded the day before an install, so install day starts with unloading. In the owner's words, it makes all the difference: no waiting around, just straight to unloading, so the customer and the designer can see the vision come together right away.
Day one: loading out of storage
Day one was spent at a storage facility, getting the pieces for the house onto the trucks. Boxed furniture, rolled rugs, and crated pieces moved across the lot on hand trucks, with the box truck and the van staged beside the building.
Cartons rode the box truck lift gate, and the van worked off its ramp. The owner's note from that day was a thank-you to the crew for hustling so tomorrow would go off without a hitch.
Why load the day before
Loading is the slow, careful part of any job, and on an install it does not have to happen on the same day as the house. When the pieces are already sitting in storage, the loading can be done the day before, on flat pavement with room to stage. Install day is then spent at the house, where the designer needs the crew.
It also keeps the morning clean. Nobody is waiting on a truck, and the first thing that happens at the house is the first piece coming off. That is the same thinking behind how we uncrate in the driveway on an install day: keep the slow work away from the rooms the designer is trying to see.
Day two: straight to unloading
The next day the loaded truck was at the house, a two-story home on a cul-de-sac in Santa Rosa Beach. The ramp came down on arrival and the unload started right away.
Inside the truck, everything was wrapped, padded, and strapped from the day before. That is the point of pre-loading: the work that makes an unload fast was already done.
If you are a designer, a builder, or a homeowner with pieces in storage
This is a big part of our design trade delivery and installation work: pulling pieces out of storage, loading them, and getting them into the house on the day the designer needs them. We wrote up a full week of these jobs in our design trade install notes.
If your things are between homes rather than headed for an install, the same crew can hold them for you with mover-held storage and deliver when the house is ready. Planning an install in Santa Rosa Beach or along 30A? Get in touch and tell us where the pieces are now.
Licensed and insured. Fla. Mover Reg. No. IM4125. Locally owned and operated in Santa Rosa Beach, serving Walton, Okaloosa, and Bay Counties.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does pre-loading mean for a furniture install?
The truck is loaded the day before the install, usually from storage, so install day starts with unloading at the house. There is no waiting on the truck, and the designer and the homeowner see the rooms come together right away.
Can you pick up furniture from a storage unit for a designer?
Yes. We pull pieces out of storage, wrap and load them, and deliver them to the house on the day the designer needs them. Tell us where the pieces are and how access works at the facility when you book.
Do you work with interior designers on 30A and in Santa Rosa Beach?
Regularly, including install days with Design & Dwell Homes. We handle the truck, the carry, and the placement so the designer can focus on the rooms.
Can you hold furniture until the house is ready?
Yes. Mover-held storage means the same crew loads your things, holds them, and delivers when the house is ready. Tell us your dates when you call.
Which areas do you cover?
Santa Rosa Beach is our home base, and we work across 30A and the rest of Walton, Okaloosa, and Bay Counties. We are licensed and insured under Fla. Mover Reg. No. IM4125.